Officials in Minneapolis will erect more than $1 million worth of fencing and other barriers around government buildings to protect them during the trial of the former police officer charged in the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in custody last year.
About $420,000 will be spent by country officials to surround the Hennepin County Government Center where Derek Chauvin goes on trial Monday in the death of George Floyd, while the city of Minneapolis will spend nearly $645,000 to protect five police precincts, City Hall and the Public Service Building.
The barriers are in addition to thousands of police officers and National Guard troops that are to be deployed for the trial, a move that the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported has angered some city council members and community groups. Riots following Floyd's death last year continued for four days and caused damage to 1,500 buildings.
"Some in our communities may find some of the environmental structures that they see — barricades and barriers and fences — perhaps a little bit daunting," Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo told reporters Thursday.
Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in the May 25 death of Floyd, which the medical examiner said was from a heart attack. The report classified the death as a homicide but also noted that Floyd died with fatal levels of the synthetic opioid fentanyl in his system.
While the report blamed the death on "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression," it also found ''no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation."
Three other officers also charged are set to go on trial in August.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.